Capistrano killings: Money not motive in shooting, D.A. says

March 10, 2014

Updated March 12, 2014 11:37 a.m.

1 of 8

Homicide detail investigator Justin Montano answers questions for the media during a news conference Friday after Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens announced the arrest of 19-year old Ashton Sachs on suspicion of killing his parents, Brad and Andra Sachs, on Feb. 9 in their San Juan Capistrano home. KEN STEINHARDT, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

1 of 8

Ashton Colby Sachs COURTESY OF OCSD

1 of 8

The San Juan Capistrano home of Bradford and Andra Sachs, a couple who were killed in their house Feb. 9. ANNA REED, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

1 of 8

Andra Sachs and Brad Sachs, shown in 2010, were partners in Plug In Solutions in San Juan Capistrano. They were slain in their home Feb. 9. FILE PHOTO: PAUL BERSEBACH, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

1 of 8

Relatives of Ashton Sachs are helped out of the Santa Ana County jail complex after his arraignment hearing Monday morning. Sachs is being charged with killing his parents, Bradford and Andra Sachs, as well as trying to kill his 8-year-old brother and 17-year-old sister in their San Juan Capistrano home Feb. 9. SAM GANGWER, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

1 of 8

A relative of Ashton Sachs watches the county jail complex in Santa Ana after his arraignment hearing Monday morning. Sachs is being charged with killing his parents, Bradford and Andra Sachs, along with trying to kill his 8-year-old brother and 17-year-old sister in their San Juan Capistrano home Feb. 9. SAM GANGWER, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

1 of 8

Orange County Deputy District Attorney Ebrahim Baytieh speaks to the media after an arraignment hearing for Ashton Sachs on Monday morning. Sachs is being charged with the killing his parents and trying to kill a brother and a sister. SAM GANGWER, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

1 of 8

Relatives of Ashton Sachs are helped out of the Santa Ana County jail complex after his arraignment hearing Monday morning. Sachs is being charged with his parents' slaying. SAM GANGWER, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Homicide detail investigator Justin Montano answers questions for the media during a news conference Friday after Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens announced the arrest of 19-year old Ashton Sachs on suspicion of killing his parents, Brad and Andra Sachs, on Feb. 9 in their San Juan Capistrano home.KEN STEINHARDT, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

SANTA ANA – Prosecutors said money was not a motive for a 19-year-old charged with sneaking into his parents' multimillion-dollar home and killing them as they slept.

The parents, Bradford and Andra Sachs, owned several properties across the country and were involved with multiple tech and green companies. When they were found shot dead in their bedroom last month, homicide investigators began digging into their business dealings for a possible lead.

A month after their deaths, their second-oldest child appeared in an orange jail jumpsuit via video in a jailhouse courtroom, charged with the murder of his parents and attempted murder of two of his siblings.

The suspect's 8-year-old brother, according to the district attorney, was shot and paralyzed.

The sister was uninjured.

“I can tell you one thing, it's not financially motivated,” said Deputy District Attorney Ebrahim Baytieh.

Ashton Sachs spoke little in his first court hearing Monday. He said, “Yes, sir,” to confirm his name and date of birth.

When the judge asked if he could afford to pay a lawyer, he shook his head and said, “No.”

Sachs was arrested Thursday, nearly a month after homicide investigators found few clues and leads to a suspected killer.

Justin Montano, the lead investigators with the Orange County Sheriff's Department, described the case as a “true whodunit” until last week, when a lead pointed authorities to Sachs.

Court records show that the San Juan Capistrano couple's business dealings often landed them in court in lawsuits, and Montano said investigators found several people who “did not like” the couple.

Detectives found no signs of forced entry in the San Juan Capistrano home on Peppertree Bend, a three-story house valued at more than $3.5 million.

Business dealings and money seemed to play a key role as investigators looked into the lives of the wealthy couple, but a lead last week pointed investigators in a different direction.

“This was not something that happened on the spur of the moment or in the heat of passion,” Baytieh said.

Ashton Sachs had been living with his parents, but moved out last fall, officials said.

He was living in Seattle, but drove more than 1,100 miles down to San Juan Capistrano just before the killings, Baytieh said.

The prosecutor said Sachs entered the family home in the middle of the night and, “brutally, absolutely brutally” shot Bradford Hans Sachs, 57, and Andra Sachs, 54.

He is accused of then shooting his 8-year-old brother in his bedroom and shot, and missed, his 17-year-old sister.

No one inside the home recognized the shooter, and Ashton Sachs fled before deputies arrived, Baytieh said.

Sachs then caught a flight back to the Seattle area, Baytieh said.

“The absolutely sad thing about this case is, we all like to go to sleep at night thinking parents will not hurt their children, and children will not hurt their parents,” Baytieh said.

Beyond two speeding tickets in Orange County and Washington state, Ashton Sachs doesn't appear to have a criminal record.

About two weeks after the killings, the suspect and his older brother filed paperwork in San Diego County asking to be named guardians of their underage siblings and the Sachses' estate – including the injured 8-year-old boy.

The suspect was taken into custody in San Diego, where he and his siblings were planning on settling, officials said.

Law enforcement officials said they spoke with him extensively in San Diego and Orange County, but would not comment on what Sachs said.

User Agreement

Keep it civil and stay on topic. No profanity, vulgarity, racial
slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about
tragedies will be blocked. By posting your comment, you agree to
allow Orange County Register Communications, Inc. the right to
republish your name and comment in additional Register publications
without any notification or payment.